At about 5pm on Sunday, February 26 2006, I was at the City Mall (Onikan, Lagos). That location is known for one major thing — movies — but I wasn’t there to see a movie; rather, I was there to celebrate the future. Earlier in the day, Adeolu Akinyemi (former classmate and an inspiring young man) called me, and a few minutes after our initial conversation was over, I called back again… and our discussion was also about the future. “What is this future thing you’re talking about?”

Organised by a team of dynamic young people who want to be known as RedStrat Communications, and have sworn to paint the town positively red, The Future Awards website has the following to say:

Slowly but surely, a quiet revolution driven by the 18+ has taken place, and it is time to signpost this revolution (for a new Nigeria) and take advantage of it. You know why this is crucial? Because all over the world, positive and radical change for the better has always been powered by the young - therefore it can only mean well for Nigeria, this revolution.

Defining the event will be an atmosphere of style and panache strongly underlined by excellence, achievement and success. And then the clincher – it will be all about, for and totally by young people.

And in announcing the event itself, the organisers said, “The ‘D’ Day is HERE! 26th of February 2006 Young Achievers between the ages of 18-31 will be recognised and APPLAUDED. Welcome to ‘The Future…!’ 200 seats…200 unique individuals! 18-31 years old…ALL Achievers! 26th of February 2006!”

I got an earlier eMail announcing that I had been nominated for 2 categories (”Best Use of Technology” and “Youth of the Year”), and the suspense was really there until the evening of the event. Adeolu was also nominated for the “Corporate/Professional Nigerian” category, and that meant a lot to me. [See full list of nominees here] We’ve been friends for quite a while (and worked on a lot of projects while in Great Ife), and here is celebration coming the way of two innocent (did someone sigh?) young men who made up their minds a little earlier to focus on donation and not duration.

By the time the evening was over, there were three statuettes on our table — one for Deolu, one for me, and the third for LEAP Africa (whose representative was on our award-winning table ) While I won the “Best Use of Technology” award, Deolu went home with the “Corporate/Professional Nigerian” award. See the full list of winners below:

• Musician of the Year: Innocent Tuface Idibia
• Actor of the Year: John Njamah
• Production Person/(Producer of the Year): Cobhams (QuestionMark)
• Beauty & Style Award: Bisi Sowemimo (FTV Model of the Year 2004)
• On-Air Personality of the Year: Ikechukwu Oviawe (Wildchild)
• Best Use of Goodwill: Maria and Marita Ayodele
• Best Use of Technology Award: ‘Gbenga Sesan
• NGO of the Year: LEAP Africa
• Comedian of the Year: Basket Mouth
• Magazine of the Year: YouthSpeak
• Corporate/Professional Nigerian: Adeolu Babawale Akinyemi (Virgin Nigeria)
• Entrepreneur of the Year: Tara Fela-Durotoye (House of Tara)
• Artist of the Year: Toyin Sokefun
• Writer of the Year: Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
• Young Person of the Year: Tosin Otitoju

In all, the event was inspiring — and no one can ever forget how proud we all were to be Nigerians when the national anthem was remiexd by the trio of Segun Obe, Essenceand Ego Iheanacho (Lagbaja’s vocalist and dancer, who didn’t fail to show off her new wedding ring at the event, at the instance of a comedian). The future is here, the future is bright, and as we say here, “dem go take!” To Chude and the entire RedStrat team, I doff my hat… to the stars who chose to shine at City Mall on Sunday evening, our work is spelt out, and to the motivating “aunties” and “uncles” who showed up to encourage the 18+ event, nagode. Nigeria rocks! And I see a New Nigeria…

The WSIS Declaration of Principles attests to that fact that young people are the leading creators and earlist adopters of ICTs; and there is no better set of people full of energy and so passionate than these youths to spread the use of these technologies. It is therefore important (of course) to include these young men and women in policy implementation processes and supporting them with the needed resources to extend the perimeters of the development through the Information and Communications Technology.

All across Nigeria, there are youth-led efforts aimed at raising awareness on the effective use of the ICTs for socio-economic development. This number will increase as more communities adopt the use of these technologies. In order then to support this new dynamic, to harmonise all these local efforts into a platform for resource sharing and best practice appraisal, the Nigerian Youth ICT for Development (ICT4D) youth network (NYIN) was formed. NYIN was launched just after the WSIS African Regional Preparatory meeting that took place in Accra, Ghana in February 2005.

NYIN has a vision of “raising a networked generation of young Nigerians empowering themselves and contributing to the country’s active participation in the Information Society”. NYIN is not another new organisation, but a network of youth led ICT4D initiatives. Through its online platform, NYIN seeks to support, inspire, empower, educate, assist and inform youth led initiatives around the country and help them reach their full potentials and achieve their goals and objectives. NYIN also will work with youth efforts that are directed towards achieving the Millenium Development Goals (MDGs). NYIN seeks to bring together youth efforts from all levels and locations — at home and in the Diaspora; at the pre-school level (talk about catching them young), primary school, secondary school, tertiary institutions and young professionals!

On Wednesday, February 22nd, 2006 the NYIN portal (www.nyinetwork.org) was launched at the Henrich Boll Foundation Lagos Office and has since been open to youth led ICT4D efforts in Nigeria for registration. So do you have a youth led ICT4D initiative that wants to be a part of the network or that is already a part of it? Please get to the website at www.nyinetwork.org and register. Registration is free and with time, registered organisations will have access to ICT4D news update, upcoming ICT4D events, resources, best practises and more.

Sgd: Edward Popoola, Nigeria’s Information Technology Youth Ambassador

The World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) ended in Tunis over two months ago, but it will only amount to obvious waste (of resources, including time and travel money) if any nation or people-group fail to maximize the opportunities that the process provided — and still provides. With various follow-up meetings and consultations continuing globally, it is important for Nigeria to also consider the opportunities that the WSIS process — and ICT for Development efforts — provides.

From Bamako to Tunis

Beginning in Africa (with Africa hosting the first of the regional preparatory committee meetings in Bamako in 2002) and ending here also, the WSIS process seems to be a great way of reminding Africa of her responsibilities within the Information Society. And when we are reminded of the fact that an African nation suggested the idea of hosting a World Summit on the Information Society, one can not but ask the question: “Was the WSIS process really beneficial for the African states that actively participated?” Each nation would be responsible for the appropriate answer, but it is worthy of note that beyond expected (and unexpected) flaws, the WSIS provided a unique networking and communication opportunity on a multi-stakeholder platform.

My consistent constituency throughout the process, the Youth Caucus, made a good case for what young people can do when there is a meeting point between preparation and opportunities. Right from Bamako through to Tunis (and including all the PrepComs and inter-sessional meetings), youth presence was felt. Arriving Tunis in varying numbers from diverse nations, the Youth Hub was soon to become a center of attraction to the entire WSIS population. Was it the visible energy, the colourful displays, the evident result of intense research, or was it the music and youthful vigour? All these played their respective roles in establishing the role of youth within the Information Society.

As you moved from one event to the other, you couldn’t avoid seeing these young people whose faces radiated hope and spelt sustainability for the future of the Information Society. A subset of this Youth Caucus was even more visible: with impact on their minds, passion in their hearts, branded T-shirts often on their necks, and their national flag on their shoulders, young Nigerians revealed the hope for Nigeria’s active participation (and possible leadership) in the Information Society. And when you think of the meetings in which some of these young Nigerians were invited to share best practices, you could not help noticing the attendant commendation for their efforts. But how were they able to translate all the energy into visible products such as the popular documentary and much-sought-after book?

The Miracle of Accra

The translation of energy into visible products is not unconnected to what I choose to describe as the Miracle of Accra. A presentation opportunity allowed me to share my thoughts on possible youth participation at the then-upcoming WSIS Regional Meeting in Accra, and what would come after that was not exactly predictable a few months before that day. The Youth Caucus had learnt to work through volunteers who depended on personal finances to attend meetings, and to take advantage fellowship openings to continue involvements in the WSIS process. But the support of Heinrich Boll Foundation (HBF) changed the speed of action.

With the support for twenty one (21) young Nigerians to the Accra WSIS meeting, HBF clearly led what a word less than miracle cannot describe. These vibrant young people “led discussions, facilitated meetings, produced newsletters, met with dignitaries, resolved issues, matched words with action, and stayed up late… in order to help meet Africa’s Information Society needs. ” There in Accra, the African Youth ICT4D Network was born, and its effect can only be best described in the days to come – when different nations (including Burkina Faso, Cameroun, Egypt, Ghana and Nigeria) will establish their own national-level networks in line with the principles of the pan-African Youth Network.

Out of Tunis: Reaping the Dividends?

Having arrived at our post-Tunis days, and with so much miles to be covered, it is only wise to consider the need for the sustainability of projects, people, policy, partnerships and platforms. In an earlier article , I had argued that:

“It is the duty of Government delegations to return to their respective countries and deliberately broadcast the outcomes of the process (to date) to their respective national stakeholders. This is also true for regional representatives and their sub-regional counterparts. We have come to appreciate the place of inclusion in national processes and while some nations, sub-regions or regions may not be able to boast of bottom-up consultations leading to the WSIS, this would be a great time to do so.

“For young people, it is time to prove that our energies can help propel development. We discovered a best-practice effort during the first phase, the National Information Society Youth Campaigns. 21 countries, 5 continents, 20 regional and national conferences, over 200 workshops, over 40 radio programs, 5 video conferences, over 100,000 brochures, over, 50 media stories… the impact speaks for itself. You should have been there to see the faces of some rural youth literally glow when they learnt of the role of ICTs and had the opportunity of being taught in their own local language! Have you seen the Youth Caucus movie from phase 1? [And permit me to add this, “have you seen the Nigeria Rocks! book and documentary?”] You need to; it speaks for the impact and possibilities of youth energy.”

These assertions remain particularly relevant for Nigeria and other African nations that are interested in translating their WSIS investments into visible development opportunities. How about the upcoming Internet Governance Forum and the Stocktaking exercise? Have we reached the climax of national participation in the emerging Information Society consultations? I doubt that that should be the case. Projects such as the Lagos Digital Village (LDV) remain committed to the principle of maximizing WSIS opportunities, and I am sure that the coming days will witness dynamic efforts within the Nigerian civil society space. With the support of Heinrich Boll Foundation and project concept (with volunteer support) from Paradigm Initiative Nigeria, LDV will host an ICT4All Seminar for secondary school students (in order to encourage ICT clubs and discuss cybercrime) on the 29th of March; a Cybercrime Roundtable at the HBF office on the 19th of April; a Mentorship Roundtable (which will bring together two generations of ICT professionals in Nigeria for the purpose of building staying power for the sector, for the days ahead) at the HBF office on the 17th of May; and the annual Youth Agenda to discuss wholesome application of ICTs for development at the community level.

People remain critical resources for this key challenge of achieving Nigeria’s aim of becoming “…an IT capable country in Africa and a key player in the Information Society by the year 2005, using IT as the engine for sustainable development and global competitiveness. ” We may miss the last digit in the year of target, but the decade should remain the same. With the help of the media (who have been significantly helpful with the creation of awareness and responsiveness of government – among other things), civil society networks, private sector funding and academia research, Nigeria should be in safe hands. The task of producing a conducive environment and appropriate policy frameworks remain with the government – through the specialized agencies that have been saddled with the responsibility of developing Nigeria’s ICT sector. Partnerships such as the one between HBF and civil society organisations (of which the LDV is proud to be one), and functional intra-civil society networks will contribute to the speed and efficiency of the post-Tunis phase. Platforms such as the Nigerian Youth ICT4D Network (NYIN) portal – which I will present to you shortly – will help various stakeholders to give expression to their commitments and contributions to Nigeria’s post-Tunis realities.

We do not have the luxury of many options. As it is popularly said, we either “shape up or ship out”. My preferred option – and that which I have seen expressed in various discussions – is that of shaping up, doing it right, and reaping the dividends of WSIS in Nigeria.

—
1. SESAN O. (2005), RIPPLES from Lagos: …Nigerian Youth Choose to Lead Action in the Information Society. Retrieved from the World Wide Web on February 21, 2006: http://www.gbengasesan.com/papers.htm
2. SESAN O. (2005), Quo Vadis: Where do we go from Geneva? Retrieved from the World Wide Web on February 21, 2006: http://www.gbengasesan.com/papers.htm
3. Nigerian National Policy for Information Technology (2001). Retrieved from the World Wide Web on August 31, 2006: http://www.nitda.gov.ng

The World Summit on the Information Society ended in Tunis over two months ago, but it will only amount to obvious waste (of resources, including time and travel money) if any nation or people-group fail to maximise the opportunities that the process provided — and still provides. With various follow-up meetings and consultations continuing globally, it is important for Nigeria to also consider the opportunities that the WSIS process — and ICT for Development efforts — provides.

This informs the media presentation of the “Nigeria Rocks!” project, which will discuss the book, Global Process, Local Reality: Nigerian Youth Lead Action in the Information Society; show the Nigeria Rocks! documentary; host a progress report on Nigerian Youth and ICTs (to be delivered by Nigeria’s Information Technology Youth Ambassador, Edward Popoola); and launching of the Nigerian Youth ICT4D Network (NYIN) Portal. The series of events will help lend media credence to the process of youth inclusion and participation in Nigeria’s ICT for Development space while also celebrating the possible sustained contributions of these youth.

“FGC Idoani, we greet thee
FGC Idoani, we love thee
To show academic excellence: this is our goal
The unity of our dear nation: this is our pride

(… and then the usual noise after the anthem, remember? Any errors in the anthem, mine and regretted — 1994 was 12 years ago )

On the 25th of February, 2006, alumni of Federal Government Collage, Idoani, will gather for the FGC Idoani National Ex-Students’ Reunion 2006. Please see event details below:

Theme: “National Rebirth”

Venue: Dining Hall, F. G. C. Idoani

Date: Saturday, February 25, 2006

Time: 10am prompt

Additional program details follow:

1. Friday February 24
   • Arrival and registration of ex-students from distant chapters by 12 noon
   • A special Jumat service at the college Mosque by 1pm
   • A friendly football match between the ex-students and present students on the school football field by 4pm prompt.
2. Saturday February 25 (10am-4pm):
   • Cross-country race to town by ex- and present students (6am)
   • A 30-minute lecture on the theme “National Rebirth”, by a renowned medical doctor and conference speaker, Dr. Adeleye Omokhoa (former Chief Medical Consultant, Igbinedion University, Okada)
   • Inspection of college facilities, led by Mrs. A.A. Abolaji (former Principal) and heads of staff
   • A 45-minute open forum between staff and ex-students on “FGC Idoani … Our Status Quo”, to be led by Mr. Tope Fasidemi
   • Official introduction and launching of The FGC Idoani Intervention Fund, led by Dr. Dayo Adewuya and Barrister Ray
   • Introducing The Career Network (TCN), by Mr. ‘Gbenga Sesan
   • Introducing The FGC Idoani Books Project, by Mr. Bunmi Isinkaye
   • Nomination and Election of the 30th Anniversary planning committee and zonal coordinators January 2008, by Mr. Doyin Adeloye
   • Refreshment and reminiscences
   • Networking, led by Ms. Kemi Ogunya
   • Cutting the Reunion Cake

The Program Directors/Moderators are Tunde Akinsemola and Akinwunmi Abodunde. The Chairman will be Mr. Samuel Oluwole Adelana, the first Senior Prefect of Fderal Government College, Idoani.

For additional information and registration details, please contact Humble Okere, humbleo@yahoo.com and 08038558270.

See you in Idoani, if you ever had the privilege of attending the school I refer to as the training ground The enthronment and celebration of academic excellence, Nigeria’s unity, promotion of good governance, insisting on good behaviour, honour to the dutiful teachers/administrators, the love for FGC Idoani, and the pride we have in her training should move us to act. Reunion 2006 is the opportunity, February 25, 2006 is the date. Great, old FGC Idoani is the place. You and I are the people… let’s make it happen!

Eager to see you there…